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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Vacant Mind

The minute I start working with my hands, my creative brain shuts down. Why is that?

For the last couple weeks, and for the last several days in particular, I've been focused (ok, fixated) on repainting our finished basement. It seems to me that painting is one of those things very few people are on the fence about--you either love it or you hate it. Put me in the "love it" category. I find the whole thing weirdly therapeutic. I put on my headphones and disappear into the task at hand. When I'm done, I have made an easily recognizable improvement that, unlike laundry or dishes, will not need to be done again anytime soon. It's all good.

What I have noticed, however, is that I can't work on a project like that and also sit down to write. It's not just the time constraint; I really have nothing to say. You'd think that spending ten hours at a time with nothing but country music and a paintbrush would permit my mind to zone out and create. It doesn't. Either my mind is fully encumbered with the project or completely vacant. I'm not sure which.

I finished Phase 1 of the basement project after midnight last night (remember, fixated). The furniture is back in place and the room is clean. Now that my hands are temporarily idle, I hope that my mind will be inspired to create. We are heading off for our last ski weekend, so I hope to split my not-skiing time among a new book, some online research for basement wall decorations, and a return to the blog. I know it hasn't been that long, but I've missed it (you).

Before and after basement photos are forthcoming. I'm looking forward to showing you what I've been up to and why my head has been so empty for so long. In the meantime, if anyone has a legitimate explanation why I cannot create with my hands and my head at the same time, please enlighten me.